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First Impression: Sing “Yesterday” for Me

Rikuo works part-time at a convenience store, having graduated college but feeling that a business job isn’t suite for him. Shinako, his old crush, does have a job, as a high school teacher, and is eager to reconnect with him. And then there’s Haru, a girl with a connection to both, whose appearance in Rikuo’s life may make him question why he’s really become how he is, and reflect on who he once was.

Much like Listeners with its girl with an audio jack, Yesterday wo Uttate features a girl with an interesting characteristic—a hobbling crow. But this is no supernatural tale (not that I can tell at least)—Haru rushes into Rikuo’s life unexpectedly, but not without reason or by chance. Her arrival is one of two in episode one that affects Rikuo in such a way that he can no longer sit idly by with the thought pattern he’s established for himself, one that says it’s okay to be without purpose. And so you can see, Sing “Yesterday” for Me is bringing a different tone to the spring 2020 anime season, a seinen show that hits all the right notes about the slow depression one can drift into during their early twenties, and animated in browns and with cutscenes that offer a strong nostalgic tone. And if that wasn’t enough, to reference another series about to premiere, Rikuo gives off adult Hachiman vibes (and even falls off his bike after hitting a can of MAX, er MIX Coffee), and I’m totally down with that.